Problemista
Alejandro is an aspiring toy designer from El Salvador, struggling to bring his unusual ideas to life in New York City. As time on his work visa runs out, a job assisting an erratic art-world outcast becomes his only hope to stay in the country and realize his dream.
The film commercial failure against its tight budget of $12.0M, earning $2.5M globally (-79% loss). While initial box office returns were modest, the film has gained appreciation for its unconventional structure within the comedy genre.
Plot Structure
Story beats plotted across runtime
Narrative Arc
Emotional journey through the story's key moments
Story Circle
Blueprint 15-beat structure
Arcplot Score Breakdown
Weighted: Precision (70%) + Arc (15%) + Theme (15%)
Problemista (2024) demonstrates deliberately positioned dramatic framework, characteristic of Julio Torres's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 15-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 1 hour and 44 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 7.7, the film showcases strong structural fundamentals.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 1 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes Alejandro works at a cryogenic facility in New York, a soft-spoken Salvadoran immigrant with dreams of designing toys for Hasbro. His whimsical imagination is established through surrealist animated sequences showing his creative, childlike worldview.. The analysis reveals that this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 12 minutes when Alejandro loses his job at the cryogenic facility, triggering a visa crisis. He now has only 30 days to find a new employer willing to sponsor his work visa or face deportation to El Salvador. His dream and his legal status are suddenly in jeopardy.. At 12% through the film, this Disruption aligns precisely with traditional story structure. This beat shifts the emotional landscape, launching the protagonist into the central conflict.
The First Threshold at 26 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 25% of the runtime. This illustrates the protagonist's commitment to Out of desperation, Alejandro accepts a position as assistant to Elizabeth, an abrasive and notoriously difficult art critic. He actively chooses to enter her chaotic world to help mount an exhibition of her cryogenically frozen husband Bobby's bizarre paintings—his only chance at visa sponsorship., moving from reaction to action.
At 52 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 50% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. Notably, this crucial beat False victory: Alejandro and Elizabeth make significant progress on the art exhibition. They begin to understand and soften toward each other, finding unexpected common ground. However, the stakes raise—the visa deadline grows closer and the complexity of the show increases, making success feel possible but fragile., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 78 minutes (75% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, All is lost: a major crisis threatens both the art exhibition and Alejandro's visa status. His relationship with Elizabeth reaches a breaking point. The "whiff of death"—the death of his American dream, the possibility of deportation, and the loss of everything he's worked toward., indicates the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Second Threshold at 83 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 80% of the runtime. Breakthrough: Alejandro finds renewed determination and clarity. A shift occurs in his relationship with Elizabeth—mutual understanding and respect emerge. He synthesizes what he's learned about persistence, self-advocacy, and human connection. Armed with new resolve, he takes control of his situation., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
Problemista's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 15 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs a 15-point narrative structure framework that maps key story moments. By mapping Problemista against these established plot points, we can identify how Julio Torres utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish Problemista within the comedy genre.
Comparative Analysis
Additional comedy films include The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, The Bad Guys and Lake Placid.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
Alejandro works at a cryogenic facility in New York, a soft-spoken Salvadoran immigrant with dreams of designing toys for Hasbro. His whimsical imagination is established through surrealist animated sequences showing his creative, childlike worldview.
Theme
In flashbacks, Alejandro's mother Dolores tells him to pursue his dreams and use his imagination, establishing the film's central tension between creative aspirations and the brutal pragmatism required to survive as an immigrant in America.
Worldbuilding
Establishment of Alejandro's precarious existence: his job at the cryogenic facility, his dependence on work visa sponsorship, his dream job at Hasbro, and the dehumanizing bureaucracy of the American immigration system. The surrealist tone is established through fantastical visual sequences.
Disruption
Alejandro loses his job at the cryogenic facility, triggering a visa crisis. He now has only 30 days to find a new employer willing to sponsor his work visa or face deportation to El Salvador. His dream and his legal status are suddenly in jeopardy.
Resistance
Alejandro desperately searches for work through Craigslist (personified as a character). He faces surreal, absurd job interviews and constant rejection. He resists taking jobs beneath his aspirations while the visa deadline looms. The debate: should he give up his dreams or return home?
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
Out of desperation, Alejandro accepts a position as assistant to Elizabeth, an abrasive and notoriously difficult art critic. He actively chooses to enter her chaotic world to help mount an exhibition of her cryogenically frozen husband Bobby's bizarre paintings—his only chance at visa sponsorship.
Mirror World
Alejandro begins working closely with Elizabeth, who despite her volatility and impossible demands represents a mirror to his struggle. Both are fighting to preserve something precious (her husband's legacy, his creative dreams) against indifferent systems. Their unlikely relationship begins to form.
Premise
The "fun and games" of navigating Elizabeth's erratic personality and mounting the art show. Alejandro deals with her impossible demands, absurd art world politics, and bureaucratic nightmares—all while the visa clock ticks. Surrealist sequences illustrate the Kafkaesque experience of immigrant precarity.
Midpoint
False victory: Alejandro and Elizabeth make significant progress on the art exhibition. They begin to understand and soften toward each other, finding unexpected common ground. However, the stakes raise—the visa deadline grows closer and the complexity of the show increases, making success feel possible but fragile.
Opposition
Multiple obstacles converge: Elizabeth becomes more demanding and unpredictable, complications arise with the art show, the visa deadline approaches relentlessly, and the immigration bureaucracy proves increasingly hostile. External pressures (the system) and internal pressures (Elizabeth's volatility) intensify simultaneously.
Collapse
All is lost: a major crisis threatens both the art exhibition and Alejandro's visa status. His relationship with Elizabeth reaches a breaking point. The "whiff of death"—the death of his American dream, the possibility of deportation, and the loss of everything he's worked toward.
Crisis
Alejandro's dark night of the soul. He confronts the real possibility of deportation and the death of his creative dreams. Reflecting on his journey, his mother's encouragement, and what he's learned. The system seems designed to crush people like him. Everything feels hopeless and absurd.
Act III
ResolutionSecond Threshold
Breakthrough: Alejandro finds renewed determination and clarity. A shift occurs in his relationship with Elizabeth—mutual understanding and respect emerge. He synthesizes what he's learned about persistence, self-advocacy, and human connection. Armed with new resolve, he takes control of his situation.
Synthesis
The finale: Alejandro executes his plan to resolve both the art exhibition and his visa crisis. Elizabeth and Alejandro work together with newfound mutual respect. He confronts the bureaucratic system with creativity and determination, applying the perseverance his mother taught him and the assertiveness he learned from Elizabeth.
Transformation
Closing image: Alejandro transformed from passive dreamer to active agent of his own destiny. He has found his voice, maintained his creativity despite the hostile system, and forged meaningful human connection. The whimsical imagination from the opening remains, but now tempered with hard-won strength and self-determination.